The Three Amigos
by Nixa Jane
Summary: AU taking off from DWTB-John, Chiana and Rygel leave Moya together. Predictably, nothing goes as planned. COMPLETED.
1. Separation Anxiety

**The Three Amigos**

Note: In this story, at the end of an AU DWTB, John goes with Chiana and Rygel instead of getting left behind alone in his module. In the interests of reducing complications in my little AU, Noranti hasn't shown up yet, so John doesn't know about the baby.

* * *

Prologue: Separation Anxiety

"Why do you not at least leave it here?"

"Because I may never get back _here_, and I need it," John said irritably. Everyone constantly told him how worthless his module was, but for all the faults they saw in it, it could do what a Prowler couldn't--carry someone safely through a wormhole. Namely, him.

"Okay," D'Argo said, backing off, and continuing to help him roll the craft into the transport cargo bay. "But you cannot honestly be considering going off with Rygel and Chiana."

"Yeah, D--they're the ones that asked."

"Hey," D'Argo grabbed his arm and swung him around to look at him. "I haven't asked because I know you don't approve of what I am doing, but Jool, Moya and Pilot would be more than happy to have you stay, and if you're willing to look past my mission, you're welcome to come with me as well."

John smiled at him, and punched him playfully on the arm. "Thanks, man--but I gotta go keep Chiana and Buckwheat out of trouble. Besides, with Chiana, it'll have to be fun."

"That's what worries me," D'Argo said sternly. "You and Chiana have an odd sense of fun."

"Well, we'll have Rygel around to make sure we stay grounded," John said--trying not to laugh at the ludicrousness of the thought.

D'Argo sighed dramatically. "I'll never see any of you three again, will I?"

John knew he was joking, but things seemed to become real at the thought, and he looked away. "Arnessk," he said firmly. "We're all going to meet at Arnessk." Maybe even Aeryn, he thought, though he didn't dare voice it out loud--it was far too easy to jinx things in the Uncharted Territories.

"Arneesk," D'Argo repeated, turning back to push the module further into the cargo bay of the pod. "Just be there."

"We will be."

When his module was secure, John stood looking at it while D'Argo walked away. He could still hear Aeryn's voice in his head though he was trying to forget, and she kept whispering 'Yesterday.'

He kept telling himself to keep going. He had gone without Aeryn before, when she had left with the other he had been convinced he would have no chance with her any longer, and it turned out he had been right. The other John Crichton may have died, but he took the key to Aeryn's heart with him when he did.

They were just yesterday now. And Aeryn had left before he could show her that they didn't have to be.

"If you're gonna zone the whole time we're gone, maybe you shouldn't come."

The wry voice pulled him from his thoughts and he grinned, turning to see Chiana smiling at him from the doorway of the transport.

"You would miss me too much," he said playfully, because it felt good to play, and Chiana was the only one that knew how.

"Oh, I think I'd manage," she said with a laugh. "After all, you're more trouble than you're worth, and it's going to be hard enough to find my brother without a Peacekeeper look-a-like tagging along."

"I'll stay out sight," he said lightly. "You and Spanky can do all the 007 stuff. I just need to get away. I have to think, and I don't--"

"You don't want to be alone," Chiana said softly. "Hey, you aren't, got it? Never alone, Crichton, not as long as we've got each other."

He smiled at her sadly. "I knew there was a reason why you're my favorite traveling companion."

She smiled brightly, and his own smile became lighter because of it. She didn't smile as much lately, none of them did, and it was good to see it now. "That's right," she said. "And this is going to be fun. We'll find my brother, and then we'll all go to Hyneria, and kill Rygel's despot cousin, have a party--"

John looked at her with disbelief, but she ignored him. She knew very well things wouldn't go that smoothly, that they wouldn't get everything if they got any of it all, but she needed to dream for the moment and aside from the look he threw her, Crichton did nothing to shatter it.

"Right," he said. "Sounds like a plan."

"Oh don't say that," Rygel said as he flew in on his thronesled. "Your plans never work."

"This is Chiana's plan, slug man," Crichton said with a grin.

Rygel gave a look of distaste. "That's worse."

Chiana put on an offended façade that caused John to look away so he wouldn't laugh, and she marched up to grab Rygel cruelly by the ear. "Listen, toad, my plans _always_ work."

He glared at her and flew away. "You're fahrbot, you couldn't plan your way out of a paper bag."

John winced. "Hey, Sparky--please don't try and use my expressions."

"Yeah," Chiana said with a nod. "I'm the only one that gets 'em right."

"Maybe we _shouldn't_ let them go after all. I think they might kill each other."

The three of them spun around to see Jool standing at the edge of the bay with her arms crossed, and a mock-stern expression on her face. Beside her, D'Argo watched them silently.

"What you talking about, Princess?" John asked, with another of his many put-on accents, "We're the three amigos." He threw one arm around Rygel's neck, and the other Chiana's waist, before grinning innocently at his other two friends.

"Amigos? I don't want to know," Rygel said.

"I do," Chiana whispered huskily, letting her hand slip a little farther down than his waist.

John quickly grabbed the afore-mentioned hand to stop its downward progress. "Friends," he said forcefully. "It means _friends_." 

"Definitely shouldn't let them leave," D'Argo muttered, before stalking over to them. He looked at them each intently. "Can I count on you all to come back in one piece?"

"You'd think he doesn't trust us," Chiana muttered in John's ear.

D'Argo glared at her. "I don't."

Rygel was highly insulted. "I am a Dominar--" Rygel started, but he was cut off when John's hand clamped over his mouth.

"Not the Dominar speech," he said. "Not now. We've all heard it. We know."

"John," D'Argo interrupted.

"You've got to stop worrying, buddy," he said. "You're gonna go grey."

D'Argo seemed confused. "Why would I turn grey?" he asked, at the same time Chiana demanded, "What's wrong with grey?"

"Never mind," he said with a wave of his hand. "The point is, Scorpius is done for--finito, got his pink-slip and he is _out_ of the job. We'll be fine."

D'Argo seemed to decipher the meaning in the incompressible ranting, as he had been forced to learn to do, and he shook his head. "You attract more trouble than just Peacekeepers."

This was, unfortunately, absolutely correct--and John had no real defense. "Well, so do you," he said.

D'Argo glared at him, but he could think of nothing to say to that either.

"Would you two stop bickering?" Chiana asked, exasperated. "We're all going to be fine, and we're going to meet at Arneesk so we can all sit around and watch Jool play in the dirt. It'll be great."

"I do not 'play' in the dirt," Jool said haughtily. 

"Whatever, Princess," Chiana said with a grin.

"If we're going to leave," Rygel said affectedly, "I suggest we go now."

John nodded. "For once, I agree with ya, Ryge." He turned to face D'Argo and Jool, and gave a sly little smile. "We already said our good-byes to Moya and Pilot, so I guess that just leaves you two." He sighed shakily and then grinned again. "Who would have thought we'd all end up actually caring about each other, huh?" he asked.

"Speak for yourself," Rygel muttered, but he fooled none of them.

John reached out to take hold of D'Argo's arm, and met his eyes. "Take care of yourself, man," he said.

"Always. Don't get yourself captured, maimed, or mind-frelled," he demanded.

"I'll do my best, but that's asking a lot," he said, before turning away with a grin to face Jool. He grabbed her hand. "You're very annoying, Jool," he said fondly. She rolled her eyes, but he ignored her and kissed her on the forehead. "But I kinda like ya." 

"Just stay out of trouble," she demanded. "I want your help on Arneesk. You have...unique insights."

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," he said in mock-surprise, and she grinned at him and squeezed his hand before letting go.

John stepped back and looked at Chiana, giving her the cue to go ahead with her own good-byes, but she looked like she didn't know where to turn.

D'Argo sighed and moved forward, making the first move. "Take care of yourself, Chiana, and try to stay out of trouble."

She looked up and flashed a quick-silver grin. "But I like trouble."

He placed a hand on her cheek, and watched her with sad eyes. "Just stay alive."

"Always," she said. "Surviving is what I do best."

When he moved away, Chiana walked slowly over to Jool. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think I'm going to miss your whining, Princess."

"Well don't expect me to miss you," she said, but she was smiling and there were tears in her eyes when she spoke. And when Chiana grinned ruefully and moved to turn around Jool grabbed her in a hug. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"But that would suck out all the fun right out of the trip," Chiana whispered with a shaky laugh, and Jool pulled away to meet her eyes.

"Just be careful. I want to see you on Arneesk too."

They all stepped away from each other and turned to look at Rygel expectantly.

"What?" he asked. "Don't expect any of this sentimental dribble from me." But they weren't imagining it when they thought he sounded sad. "Farewell, my friends!" he said with his most regal voice. "Take care."

And then he was gone, flying into the transport on his thronesled, and there was nothing left for any of them to do but leave.

Chiana grabbed John's hand, and they followed Rygel without looking back.

End Prologue.

Next Up: Part One: Bonnie and Clyde


	2. Bonnie and Clyde

Part One: Bonnie and Clyde

"Let me see if I have this straight," John said, looking at Chiana and Rygel in turn. "You want to rip off a casino?"

"No," Chiana said promptly. "That would be wrong. We wouldn't do that, would we, Ryge?"

Rygel glared at her. "I told you we shouldn't bring him." He turned to look at John in disgust. "He's so frelling---honorable."

Chiana hit him upside the head to quiet him, then turned back to John. "We don't, ah, we don't want to rip them off. But we need money, right? And I can...well, my frelling future powers should be good for something, right?"

"The problem is," Rygel said. "Everyone will believe she is cheating."

"Well, she kind of would be," John said wryly.

"I would just be playing," Chiana said with a nod. "If I get flashes of what's going to happen before hand, well, what's a girl to do?"

"You're using Earth expressions again," John said with a grin, then he winced. "Though it's a bit embarrassing I've at some point said that one."

Chiana laughed. "I'm using it right too," she said smugly.

John sighed. "So what's my role in this little scheme?"

"You're my loyal slave," Chiana said with a sly grin.

John raised his eyebrows, and Rygel gave a long-suffering sigh. "You would be her body guard," he said. "Act like a Peacekeeper, you have enough practice. Our hope is they won't want to provoke a Peacekeeper over a few million currency pledges."

"Millions?" John asked in surprise. "How much do we need?" 

"It's not a matter of need," Chiana said wryly. "It's a matter of want, but I'm willing to settle for a couple million in the interests of discretion."

"How very humble of you," John said.

"So will you do it?" Chiana asked.

"Are the casino owners corrupt?" he asked. "Are they evil and ripping them off will be doing the universe a favor?"

"Oh absolutely. They're horrible. Murderers, cheats, liars. They deserve whatever they get," Chiana said easily. 

"Okay. Alright. We'll do it. What's Rygel going to be doing? Hiding safely in the transport?" John threw a scathing look over at the small Dominar.

He sniffed haughtily. "I will be meeting with a contact to see if I can find any more information on Hyneria or Chiana's brother."

John was surprised. "You have contacts?"

"Ryge found out about the guy on the command carrier," Chiana said, purposely neglecting to mention who had told him where to find him. "Ex-Peacekeeper. Lives at the casino dealing tresralas."

John narrowed his eyes. "How long have you guys had this planned?" he demanded.

Chiana and Rygel shared an innocent look. "Not planned. This is a spontaneous kind of thing."

John sighed. "I knew this wouldn't be boring."

* * *

"How do I look?" Chiana asked with a grin as John put on his long leather jacket.

He looked up and laughed. "Like a Princess, what's with the get up?"

Chiana grinned. "I stole some jewelry from Rygel's stash and I...procured this jacket on Rirm, that commerce planet we visited awhile back. Figured I had to look important to have Peacekeeper protection." She toyed with the necklaces and bracelets, the dark blue and regal jacket swaying along with the jewelry. "They're a bit much, though, huh?"

He stepped up to her, and carefully unclasped the large golden amulet hanging down to her waist. He placed it in her palm. "That one was a bit much," he said with a grin. "The rest look fine."

She smiled at him. "Well then, my _body_ guard, we should be off. Rygel says we only have two arns before he'll be back from his meeting, and knowing him, if we're not here, he'll leave without us."

John smiled wryly. "Be a bit hard to do with the connections I...well, _un_connected. He's not going anywhere without us."

She laughed delightedly. "When did you get so devious?"

"All that time spent hanging around you," he said lightly, before giving her a push towards the door. He tried to affect a serious look once they stepped out into the casino floor--he had to be intimidating, after all.

Chiana stayed a pace in front of him, relishing getting to be the one with the power for once, instead of a lackey or server girl. John could just tell she was enjoying it far too much. She paused abruptly and leaned back to whisper in his ear. "Mercury droplet...it bounces of an ion stream. Chances are a thousand to one--why don't we see if I can improve those odds?" With a sly grin she sauntered towards the table.

John quickly followed after her, glad that Winona had not been taken away. Apparently weapons were allowed--though really, that made him just as nervous. If you were allowed to have a weapon, they must have some means of keeping you from using it.

"Ah," the man behind the table grinned at her. Behind him was a tall glass case, an ion stream flashing like lightning along the bottom and a dropper filled with mercury suspended upside down at the top. "A Nebari. Don't get many Nebaris here," he said. "At least none that want to play."

"I'm not...like most Nebaris," Chiana said with a crooked little grin.

John held back an amused snort. Chiana wasn't like most anyone.

"Care to take your chances?"

Chiana stared up at the glass case, her fingers tightening their grip on the table as a flash overtook her. She tried to remain inconspicuous, even as she felt herself being pulled forward and back. John's hand reached out discreetly to the small of her back, steadying her, and as she was pulled back to the present she cast him a grateful glance before turning back to the dealer. "Oh, I think I might."

* * *

Rygel flew into the small casino bar. Smoke from the faulty ventilation system had gathered in a halo around the ceiling, and all the light fixtures but one had flickered out. It was the perfect place for a meeting, Rygel decided with no small amount of admiration. You could kill the person if they betrayed you, and if you did it before they could make a sound, it would be arns before the body was found.

That also made it dangerous, he admitted to himself. As sure of his abilities as he was, Peacekeepers were dangerous, and ones that had defected usually the most dangerous of them all.

And Airviel Manes was most certainly dangerous. Rygel had learned of him from the gossip of the commandos onboard Scorpius's command carrier, all of them had spoken of him with and odd mix of disdain and awe. Rygel had immediately decided that if he could be found, he would be of some use.

He had never expected to find him, however. He'd been lucky. Aeryn had known where he was from her own contacts among the Peacekeeper rebels, and she had passed the information to him, albeit with reluctance. Whether she had been worried the ex-Peacekeeper would betray him since he was not directly allied with the rebels, or if she was worried Rygel would betray Manes, Rygel was not sure and did not particularly care.

He saw a Sebecean in the back corner table, and knew it was Manes from the way he held himself. Pure Peacekeeper arrogance radiated from him even at this distance. He flew his thronesled to the back, but hovered a foot away with no intention of taking a seat. "Manes?"

Manes did not immediately turn to look at him, as he stirred the last dregs of his Fellip nectar with a small silver stick. "You must be the Dominar. Funny," he said. "You don't look like much."

Rygel narrowed his eyes. "I am here for the information. You said in your communiqués that you had Intel on the situation at Hyneria, as well as the Nebari resistance."

Manes snapped his fingers and Rygel was instantly surrounded by five armed Sebeceans. "I lied." He pulled out a knife and, before Rygel could blink, it was held against his throat. "I want John Crichton."

* * *

The dealer was sweating.

Three times in a row was unheard of. Technically speaking, it was impossible. And the Nebari just kept on winning.

John looked around them nervously, waiting for security to show up as he knew they would. He was still hoping they could bluff their way out of it, but it would become harder with each new win. And despite the multiple times he had hissed "let's go" in her ear, Chiana did not seem inclined to stop.

"One more," she kept saying, though it was never just once more. John rolled his eyes. He wondered if the Uncharteds had a Gambler's Anonymous.

So she won again, then again, six times and then seven. They had 7 million currency pledges in less than an arn. More than enough, John decided, grabbing Chiana's arm and pulling her back up against him. "Time to cash in, Pip, don't you think?" he whispered.

She tilted her head towards him slyly. "But I'm having fun."

"Ask the nice man for your money and let's _go_."

Chiana pouted a bit but did as he asked. "Rygel was right. We should have left you in the transport."

The dealer seemed reluctant to hand the money over, but when John oh-so-discreetly flipped his jacket back to reveal the pulse pistol on his thigh, he could not have been more helpful. He handed over a ticket and John immediately started leading them away. "Where do we cash out?" he asked. "I've got a bad feeling we're about a microt from getting tackled."

Chiana pointed across the floor. "Down there. And quit your worrying. We got away with it, didn't we?"

"You seeing that, Pip?" John demanded. "Because it seems to me we still have a ways to go before we're in the clear."

Chiana looked behind them, and noticed two men--dressed in tight black uniforms that she allowed herself to admire for a moment--were following them. "Okay. You're right," she said. "We're not out of it yet."

"What did you see?" John demanded, surprised she'd had a flash without his noticing.

"Them," Chiana said simply, pointing across the floor.

John spun around, and when the guards realized they'd been spotted they sped up. "Frell," John snapped. "This ticket alone is useless, isn't it?"

"Yep," she said, sounding rather unnecessarily upbeat considering their situation. "We need to get it exchanged here or this has all been for nothing."

"Yeah, well, I get the feeling the guards aren't going to wait for us to take their money." John looked around the casino, noticing three more guards approaching from the opposite direction. "Alright, Chi--make a break for it. Find Sparky and get to the transport. You should be able to fix the transport on your own." "Are you fahrbot, Crichton?" Chiana hissed. "I'm not leaving you here." 

"I miss the good ole' days," he said with an exaggerated sigh. "It used to be I had to beg and plead for you to stick around during a crisis."

She smacked him on the arm but allowed herself a grin. "We're about to die. Don't make me smile."

"We're not going to die," John said. "I'm John Crichton. Don't you listen to the stories? There ain't no situation I can't get myself out of, darlin'."

Chiana cast him a sideways glance. "I thought we all agreed those stories were dren."

John flashed her his most charming grin. "Well, mostly. But you gotta admit, I'm damn lucky."

"Odd kind of luck," she said as he grabbed her wrist to tug her behind him.

"We don't want trouble, Peacekeeper," one of the guards said as he reached them. "We just want the Nebari."

"Oh, I don't think so." John reached for Winona at the same time he pushed Chiana behind one of the tables.

They all started firing at the same time.

* * *

Manes looked up as pulse fire broke out in the casino. Rygel took advantage of his lapse and bit into his hand viciously, tearing the flesh and catching the knife when it was released from the Peacekeeper's flagging grip.

Manes' men started firing but Rygel could force his thronesled fast if he needed to, and he disappeared into the darkness of the bar before they got a clear shot.

"Frell!" Manes yelled. "What the hezmana is going on out there?"

One of the Peacekeepers ran to the door. "Guards are in a fire fight with a Peacekeeper."

Manes' eyes lit up. "A Peacekeeper? No." He started for the door. "It's gotta be Crichton."

* * *

Chiana grabbed John's jacket and yanked him down beside her as he quickly refilled the chakkan oil cartridge. "Doesn't look good, Bonnie," he said. "They've got us pinned down."

"So shoot 'em, Clyde!" she hissed.

He cast her an appreciative glance at her memory for Earth culture, before quickly taking her advice and shooting. "They've got some kind of armor," he snapped. "None of my shots are getting through. _Frell_--no wonder they don't care if you carry a weapon."

"Are you sure you're hitting them at all?" Chiana demanded.

"Yes, I'm _sure_ I'm hitting them. You want to try?" he snapped as he stood again and fired at two more of the guards. The shots slid off their suits like water. He kneeled behind the table again. "Plan B," he said.

Chiana groaned. "I hate Plan B. It's always worse than Plan A. Which is usually saying something."

"We surrender," John said. "And wait for Rygel to break us out."

"Yep. That's worse," she said. "Are you _fahrbot_? Rygel is _not_ going to break us out."

"He is if he wants to go anywhere," John said with an evil smirk. "That transport isn't leaving without us."

Chiana shook her head. "He's more resourceful than that. He'll find a way off, and it certainly won't involve risking his toady-little neck for us."

"I think you're underestimating him," John said, wincing as a pulse blast finally broke through the table surface, glancing just to the left of his head. "He's developed some loyalty over the years."

"Situational loyalty," Chiana groused. "And this situation certainly doesn't apply."

"Okay," John said. "Plan C. We go down fighting like Butch and Sundance."

Chiana promptly stood up with her hands in the air. "We surrender!"

"Plan C--makes Plan B look sane every time," John mumbled, before holstering Winona and standing up beside her. He noticed a group of Peacekeepers rushing at them from the other direction, before returning his attention to the guards.

The guards glared at them, obviously less than thrilled at having pulse-fire damage all over their casino, and then the one in charge lifted his weapon and fired.

They both froze--then they hit the ground.

End Part One.

Next Up: Part Two: Rygel to the Rescue


	3. Rygel to the Rescue

Note: John speaking internally to Harvey is shown by italics.

* * *

Part Two: Rygel to the Rescue

Rygel watched from the sidelines as John and Chiana both went limp and fell gracelessly to the floor. They were surrounded at once. Rygel noticed one of the guards take possession of both Crichton's pulse pistol and a small piece of paper. His eyes lit up as he spotted it. The ticket, he realized. They had gotten the money before they were taken down.

Discreetly heading off after the lone guard, who had separated from the others that were carrying Crichton and Chiana towards a holding cell, he avoided the gazes of both Manes and his men. He flew silently after the guard and smiled gleefully when the man turned into a small empty hallway. Rygel adjusted his grip on the stolen knife in his hands.

Reminding himself that the guard was no doubt a murderer, and had just taken prisoner two of his friends, he grabbed him around the neck and slit his throat. He made no sound, and Rygel felt no remorse.

He grabbed Crichton's pulse pistol and tucked it safely away in his thronesled. Then he grabbed the ticket and went to cash it before the guard was found dead.

He was careful to avoid both the gazes of the casino guards, and Manes' men, who were still prowling around, angry at having their prize stolen right out from under them. Rygel took what comfort he could in that. At least Crichton was prisoner to the idiot guards of the casino who did not realize his worth, and were more likely to kill him than turn him over to the Peacekeepers. He felt a pang at the thought. Though he would never admit it to them, Crichton and Chiana had always been his favorites. Chiana was a kindred spirit, and Crichton was fahrbot sure, but of all of them, he held the most faith in him.

As he cashed in the ticket, secured the seven million currency pledges to his thronesled, and then crept away to escape in the transport, he felt an intense guilt at not living up to that faith.

But there was nothing he could do, he convinced himself. Not alone. He was a Dominor, of course, but even Dominors had limits. And getting himself killed for something as intangible as loyalty would simply not do, he had a throne waiting for him.

He entered the transport, almost surprised when he was not stopped. He was actually going to get away with it, he realized. Maybe he would even find the others, and could get them to come back to rescue Crichton and Chiana. Yes, he thought. That's what he would do. His throne could wait a little longer for the sake of his friends, and he was sure if he could find D'Argo or Aeryn they would be able to come rescue them.

The thought spurred him on and cleared his conscience, and with a grin he started up the transport. Nothing happened. He tried again, and, slowly, his grin faded.

"Frelling tresneks! Sabotage!" he yelled. "You'd think after three years the frellnik would trust me!"

* * *

John groaned, his hand traveling to his holster the moment he was awake enough to move. "They took Winona," he groaned.

Chiana propped herself up on her elbows beside him, and threw him a scathing glance. "Winona? You're worrying about _Winona_? Worry about _us_."

"How long have we been here?" John asked, looking around. The cell was pretty standard, as far as he could tell. It had the requisite bare walls, no windows with a view, and very little light. It was also square. He was so tired of square. At least the flying hubcap the Plakavoids--or rather, Plokavians--had was creative. If a little creepy.

"I don't know," she said. "I just woke up a few minutes before you. I ah...I thought you were dead at first." Her voice was stressed and tight.

He pulled himself into a sitting position and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It takes more than a--whatever the hell they hit us with--to stop me."

"Some kind of stun pulse," Chiana said. "Stun pulses, body shields--I didn't know they had such good security."

"Yeah," John said wryly. "It would have been nice to know, but we should have guessed. Look at all the money they're raking in. Hey, don't suppose you still have that ticket?" 

Chiana glanced at him incredulously. "What? Like we could cash it in if I did?"

He sighed. "Right. So--Plan B."

"Plan B," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You realize, of course, we're going to be here forever if we wait for Rygel?"

He winced and got to his feet. "I'll just check out the locking mechanism on the door."

"You do that." 

* * *

Rygel secured three million of the currency pledges to his thronesled, and then headed back into the casino. "I can not believe I'm doing this," he muttered. "I've become as fahrbot as the rest of them."

He avoided being seen again--made easier by his diminutive size--as he traveled through the casino and back towards the small bar he had gone to meet Manes at. As he expected, Manes and his men were there now, drinking away their failure to capture Crichton. Rygel shook his head in disgust, completely appalled that it had come to this.

Flying up behind them, he pulled the bag of currency loose and tossed it on the ground behind them. They spun as one, six pulse pistols aimed at him almost before the bag hit the ground. He almost grinned, perhaps they were as good as they were supposed to be after all.

"You!" Manes growled. "Do you have a death wish, Hynerian?"

"I have a proposition," he said.

Manes laughed. "You can't be serious."

Rygel nodded towards the bag. "I assume you're after Crichton for the bounty," he said. "You're not a Peacekeeper spy or a command carrier would already be here. That bag holds three million currency pledges. If you want four million more, you'll listen to what I have to say."

Reluctantly, but with some admiration, Manes motioned for his men to lower their weapons. "What do you want?"

"I want you to free Crichton and the Nebari," he said. "Do it, and I'll give you the rest of the money."

Manes laughed. "Are you tinked, little Dominar? If we had Crichton and the girl, we could get more for them than you can pay."

Rygel narrowed his eyes. "You would be getting seven million currency pledges, and the pleasure of not having to interact with the Peacekeepers that hate you."

"Crichton's worth more n' that alone," Manes snapped. "Let alone the prices on your head and the Nebari girl."

"Not so much more that it's worth your trouble," Rygel said slyly. "And you cannot be so dense as to believe John Crichton would allow himself to be taken alive?"

"We wouldn't give him a choice," Manes growled.

Rygel laughed. "You _are_ dense! Do you really think the _Great_ John Crichton would leave such a thing to chance? He had a failsafe implanted, a vial of poison lies in wait in his blood stream, one simple trigger and he's dead--and he's not worth dren dead," he lied smoothly. Sometimes, he impressed even himself.

Manes shared an uncertain glance with one of his men.

"Seven million currency pledges, no strings attached, take it or leave it."

With palpable reluctance, Manes holstered his weapon. "Deal. We always admired what John Crichton was doing anyway, haven't we, boys?"

"That's right," one of the younger ones said with a grin. "We always thought Scorpius needed to get put in his place."

"But," Manes said, striking out in a flash to hold Rygel around his neck with one hand, while the other reached between the Hynerian's robes and the thronesled to retrieve his stolen knife. He let the knife slide threateningly across Rygel's green skin before he re-holstered it. "Double cross us, and you die. The whole lot of you."

* * *

"How's it coming?" Chiana asked as she kneeled behind him.

John sighed. "There's nothing. No magic key-hole. No little control panel you can rewire. There's always a little control panel you can rewire on television. Frelling Star Trek. They don't prepare you for anything."

Chiana rested her head on his shoulder and glanced at him curiously. "Star Trek."

"Yeah," he sighed. "They had phasers, and transporters and big ships with huge guns, and what do they do? Complain all the time. They had _no_ idea how easy they had it. I would kill for a transporter."

Chiana shook her head and decided now was not the time to ask. "What are we going to do?"

"Low-tech solution," he said. "You sit over there and look helpless, I'll hide behind the door and when someone comes in I tackle 'em."

Chiana looked at him incredulously. "That is not a plan."

"Sure it's a plan. It's one of my plans, but still, a plan." He grinned at her.

Chiana sighed, and went to the other side of the room to look helpless. "You're going to get yourself killed," she said as she sat down.

"Maybe," he agreed. "But it's the best chance we've got." He stood against the wall beside the door.

They didn't have to wait long. The door swung open just microts later, slamming into Crichton with brutal force. It banged his head and he slid slowly down the wall. "Ow, okay--that did not work. Ow--_frell_."

Chiana cast him an exasperated look as he was grabbed and pulled to his feet, before being thrown towards her. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"Ah, yeah--yeah, all part of the plan." He rubbed at his forehead and then looked up to meet the eyes of the guards. There were only two of them. If the damn door hadn't nearly knocked him out, he was sure he could've taken them.

He really had to stop taking his cues from television. Switching clothes with the bad guys never worked either.

"Of course it doesn't work, John, because this is not fantasy. Now focus on the situation at hand."

John cast Harvey a withering glance, not even wincing when he saw him in a white jumpsuit covered in sequins, and a truly awful brown wig with sideburns. He figured this was to be expected, they were at a casino after all. _"Look who's talking about fantasy, my own personal imaginary friend--dressed as _Elvis_. Go away, Harv. I'm busy." _

When Harvey smiled and disappeared, John returned his attention to the guards.

"We have no need of you, Peacekeeper. You have brought this upon yourself," the man said.

John laughed. "You can't be this stupid! What? You think some little girl could do this all on her own?"

Chiana grabbed urgently at his sleeve. "Crichton, don't--" she pleaded.

John ignored her. "I told her what to do," he said.

The guard narrowed his eyes. "How did you do it? It should be impossible. Are you in league with my employee?"

"Hell no," he said. "I just see the future. Comes in handy...sometimes."

"Crichton," Chiana hissed in a whisper. "Stop--they'll kill you."

The guards stared at him in complete disbelief. The one in front pulled out a weapon and aimed it at him. "The truth," he said. "Now."

"Look--" John started.

Chiana made a sound of frustration and cut him off. "He's lying. He has nothing to do with this."

The guard seemed more willing to believe that than Crichton's story. "How were you cheating?" he demanded.

"She wasn't--!" John yelled.

The guard motioned to the man beside him, and he hit Crichton across the side of his face with his weapon, sending him to the floor.

Chiana started to move towards him, but the leader spun to aim his weapon at her. "I don't--I don't know...how I did it," she said.

The guard smirked. "Why don't I believe that? Grab her," he snapped. "We'll get her to talk. Might even be fun."

John pulled himself to his knees in front of her. "Over my dead body," he said, his breathing hitching as he struggled to keep his balance.

"If you insist," the guard said. He aimed the pulse pistol, but before he pulled the trigger a commotion in the hall sent him spinning around. A microt later, he was dead, and so were all the other guards.

John looked up in shock as the Peacekeepers he had seen earlier stormed the cell, behind them, a smug Rygel floated in on his thronesled.

Chiana laughed with relief beside him, and on his other side, Harvey kneeled down next to him. "At least your Earth programs got one thing correct," he whispered. He paused for effect. "Impeccable timing."

He turned slowly to glare at him, and then swatted him irritably away.

Chiana grabbed his arm. "Crichton! Crichton, are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said, forcing himself to his feet. He held out a hand to help Chiana up and then turned to grin at Rygel. "Sparky, my man, you have no idea how happy I am to see you."

Rygel grinned self-importantly. "Yes, well, I'll expect you to make this up to me. Right now, we must leave. More guards are no doubt on their way."

John nodded. "Who are your buddies?"

"Mercenaries," Rygel said. "Don't turn your backs on them." Rygel tossed Winona to John.

He smiled as he caught her. "Winona! Rygel, I owe you two now."

"More than that," he snapped. "Move!"

John motioned for the Peacekeepers to go first, then followed Rygel out, pulling Chiana along behind him. "How are we going to get to the docking bay?" he asked.

Manes glanced back at him. "Just walk there, try not to be noticed. If someone comes after you, shoot them."

"They're bulletproof," John said sardonically.

"Aim for the small green light on their belts," Manes snapped, as though it should have been obvious. "We'll clear the way. Follow us."

"Rygel," John whispered after they started across the casino floor. "Why are they doing this for us?"

"Money," Rygel said simply.

"We don't have _any_ money," Chiana hissed.

Rygel turned to them with a pained expression. "We do. But not for long."

The three of them started off after the Peacekeepers towards the docking bay, ducking out of sight of the occasional prowling guard. The place was crowded enough that it was easy to hide in plain sight, but all of them were surprised when they made it to the docking bay without incident.

Manes was leaning against their transport, the pulse pistol in his hand held against his chest. "Now," he said. "The rest of the money."

The other Peacekeepers stood in defensive positions around their leader, all their guns aimed at the three of them. "Hynerian," he said. "Go in and get it alone. We keep them with us till we have it all."

Rygel looked suspicious, but he noted with pleasure John's hand hovering over Winona, and Chiana looked ready to tear them apart with her bare hands if it should come to it. She'd been pushed around enough for one day.

He entered the transport and grabbed up the rest of the money, reluctantly flying back out and handing it over.

Manes looked in the bag to check it over, then grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said, then he saluted them with his pulse pistol and took off towards his ship at a run, his men following behind him.

Before John could even sigh with relief, they could hear the casino guards screaming after them and running through the docking bay doors. "Frell," he said, sounding more resigned than surprised. "Transport! Everybody in!"

They all scrambled in, and John took off towards the main console as Chiana closed the hatch. He pulled off the covering and starting picking out the wires he had severed. He received a shock as he touched a live one and pulled his hand away in irritation, shaking it until the feeling came back and then getting back to work.

"Ingenious," Rygel said in distain. "Disabling our only means of escape."

"If I hadn't," John said wryly. "You would have been long gone and left Chiana and I here to rot."

"Ridiculous," Rygel snapped.

Chiana giggled. "Come on, Ryge, we know you better than that."

His ears drooped. "Well, it seemed a lost cause."

John twisted a last set of wires together and the pod came to life just as they could hear voices on the other side of the door. "You got us out easy enough when your life depended on it," John said with a grin, as he slid into the pilot seat and started up the engines.

"Crichton," Chiana called. "The bay doors are closing."

"Going as fast as I can, Pip," he said tightly. "I ain't no Han Solo."

"Just hurry!" Rygel demanded.

The transport pod took off, slipping through just as the doors were closing. John finally let out his sigh of relief. Harvey was right about one thing. You had to love that impeccable timing.

End Part Two.

Next Up: Part Three: People like Us


	4. People Like Us

Part Three: People like Us

_Two Weekens Later..._

John carefully tried to pry Chiana's arm from its death grip around his throat without waking her. Who knew she was a snuggler?

Rygel was snoring somewhere above him, suspended in his thronesled-- the same place he had spent his nights for the last two weekens, after he had pronounced with finality that Dominors did not sleep on the floor.

Things since the casino had not exactly improved. They had believed at first that Manes was simply after the bounty offered by Scorpius, that it had been yet to be revoked--but that wasn't the case at all. Grayza had wanted beacons for them at every single planet they had stopped at since.

They could go nowhere without being recognized, without being stalked. It seemed each new stop brought about new varieties of the aspiring bounty hunter--and it was getting tiresome. The only thing that kept most from trying to take them down on sight were the stories. John Crichton was known as dangerous and ruthless, and however valid most of the tales were it was probably the only reason they were all still alive.

They were on Tiran now, a small commerce planet constructed mostly of thieves--they had seen two wanted beacons for them here as well, but amongst the hundreds of wanted beacons scattered around the planet, they were nothing remarkable, and most of the locals were wanted too.

Still, to be on the safe side Rygel stayed within the transport as there was no mistaking him as anything but a Hynerian, and John and Chiana always ventured out with the hooded cloaks that seemed standard uniform for the residents. And never did they go out together. A Sebecean or a Nebari could go unnoticed alone, but together, they immediately brought about thoughts of John Crichton and his rag-tag crew.

At least Rygel, the devious little slime ball, had withheld a few thousand currency pledges of Chiana's winnings from Manes and his men. It was enough money to get them whatever food they needed, but not quite enough to waste on renting a room. Not that Crichton thought one of the rooms on this god forsaken planet would be all that much better than the transport pod anyway, all things considered, and he didn't think they would have stayed anywhere else even had they been able to afford it.

"Go back to sleep," Chiana demanded sleepily. "All your thinking is keeping me awake."

He grinned in the dark of the pod. "Just trying to decide what's next," he whispered.

"Why bother?" she asked as she pulled away and sat up. "When do things ever go like we want them to?"

"We still need a game plan," he said reasonably. "Even if chances are it will be shot all to hell."

"Game plan," Chiana echoed dubiously. "Why do I bother...?" Then she laid back down and fell to sleep.

John got to his feet and headed over to the pilot's console. He put his feet up on the controls and leaned back in thought. They had found no information on Chiana's brother or about the situation on Hyneria. They had been too busy trying to stay one step ahead of everyone looking to cash them in.

John was starting to worry that both goals were becoming lost causes, at least for the foreseeable future. They had thought that with Scorpius out of power the Peacekeepers would lose interest in them. But Grayza was offering more currency pledges than even Scorpius had, and the Scarrens were still out to get him as well.

If he thought it would help, he would disappear for their sakes. Leave his friends to their lives and hide out somewhere away from the limelight that loved him so much, a place the Peacekeepers would never find him. But it was too late for that, he knew--his friends were hunted just like him and whether they knew or not where he really was wouldn't stop Grayza from torturing them to find out.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Chiana shivering in her sleep behind him. He turned to glance at her, and then crept back over to lie back beside her, pulling his jacket over them both.

xxxxx

When next he woke, Chiana was no where in sight--and Rygel was across the room munching on food cubes and muttering to himself. John ran a hand over his eyes and pulled himself to his feet. "Where's Pip?" he asked, as he walked over to snatch a food cube from the Hynerian's hoard.

Rygel snapped at him but John was quicker, and he smiled as he took a bite of the food cube and lowered himself smugly across from him.

"She went out," he said snappishly.

John tensed. "When?"

"A couple arns ago."

"Frell, why didn't you wake me up? Something could have happened to her." John got to his feet and started looking around for the hooded cloak he had been wearing during their stay.

"She said to let you sleep because you haven't been lately," Rygel said dismissively. "And since you're relatively less annoying that way, I let you."

He pulled the cloak on and secured Winona in the holster at his thigh. "I'm going to find her."

Rygel laughed. "How? Everyone on this planet is wearing those cloaks. You'll never find her."

"Never say never," John muttered as he headed to the door. "If nothing else, Wonderland has taught me that."

He pulled the hood down over his eyes as he stepped out under the grey sky, and a group of people not far away immediately ceased all movement in favor of watching him. He tried to ignore their suspicious eyes as he started into the center of the city, heading for the small bar Chiana had mentioned a few days ago.

When he entered the wooden doors, he barely noticed the change from outside to in. The grey walls were the same bleak color as the sky, and the only lighting came from two small windows beside the doors. The bartender was not a species he recognized. Small glowing red eyes glared out from the shadows cast by his hood, and John nervously tore his gaze away.

Chiana had mentioned this was the nicest bar on the world, so he was glad he hadn't done any bar-hopping himself. He'd really hate to see the lesser ones.

He caught a flash of another shade of grey, lighter than the dreadful color shrouding this world, and slowly moved towards the source. He saw white teeth flash him a grin before he reached her and with an amused shake of his head he fell down in the seat beside her.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Having some fun," she said slyly, taking a sip of her Raslak. "We've been held up in that transport for almost a weeken."

"This is better?" he asked dubiously.

"No, but at least it's different."

"We shouldn't be together out here," he whispered back.

"I'm not the one that sat down next to you," she purred with a grin.

"If you want to leave Tiran, Chi, we'll find somewhere else to go."

Her smile disappeared. "What? Like we have options? We have nowhere _to_ go, Crichton." She got to her feet and headed towards the exit, John right on her heels.

He grabbed her arm as they both flew out the doors. "Hey," he said. "Look--"

She pulled away. "Every time I think it's over," she said. "It's not."

He sighed. "Believe me, I know how you feel. But I don't know what to do to fix it.

"I just want to have fun, Crichton," Chiana said. "This--_this_ is not fun."

Noticing the glances being cast their way John grabbed her hand and pulled her behind one of the buildings. "Chiana, I'm sorry."

"I'm never going to find him, Crichton," she told him, holding back tears. "I'm never going to have the chance. Nerri could be dead, and I'll never know. I've got every single frelling Peacekeeper in the universe after me--because of you. And I can't look for him. I can't lead them right to him."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered again, pulling her towards him.

She didn't resist. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head against his chest. "We're going to have to go to Arneesk early, aren't we?"

"Yeah," he said. "If we're being hunted they are too, we have to make sure they haven't been captured--and we're probably safer together."

Chiana laughed bitterly. "We're never safe. We never will be."

John couldn't disagree.

xxxxx

John toyed with one of the pieces of his chess set. Rygel and Chiana were on the other side of the transport, watching him occasionally, wondering how he was playing both sides at once.

"Check mate."

John winced, but refused to meet Harvey's eyes. Harvey didn't even have eyes, he thought angrily. He'd just got beat by someone that wasn't real.

Harvey came up beside him, one arm sliding over his shoulders as he sat down. John refused to look at him still, running one finger over his lips as he kept his eyes locked on the chessboard.

"This is not the only game you're losing," Harvey whispered.

John did not respond.

"Grayza does not want you as Scorpius did," he whispered. "She does not understand your worth, that's why she wants you. She wants to know why Crais and Scorpius were both obsessed with you, why the Scarrens hunt you now."

_"Make a point,"_ John thought at him irritably.

"You could make a deal with her, John. Save your friends. Save yourself."

John's eyes finally turned slightly in Harvey's direction. _"Save...you?"_

Harvey sighed. "You cannot run forever, John."

_"I escaped Crais, I beat Scorpius. I beat you. I'm not always running." _

"Yes you are," Harvey said slyly. "Sometimes you run away, sometimes towards them--but you have not stopped since you left your isolated little planet, and unless you change tactics, you never will."

John set the chessboard up again as Harvey slipped away.

"Crichton?" Chiana asked hesitantly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, Pip," he said. "I'm fine."

She shared a concerned look with Rygel and then came and sat beside him. "Rygel agrees we should head to Arneesk. He says he can't risk the Peacekeepers coming after all of Hyneria if he does managed to retake his throne--and he thinks they might do it, if they thought they could get to you through him."

"Yeah," John said distractedly. "Peacekeepers are single-minded like that."

"We, ah--we have enough fuel to get us there, and food. There's no reason we shouldn't leave now."

John nodded. "Yeah, alright." He got up and moved the console. He could feel two pairs of eyes on him all the time.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Chiana asked.

John nodded as he prepared to take off, though he knew it did nothing to convince them. He had found over time it was best not to mention Harvey if he could help it. They didn't understand why he talked with him at all. Sometimes John didn't either.

"Because we're buddies!" Harvey shouted, pulling John into his world. "Abbot and Costello, Kirk and Spock!"

Harvey had little plastic Vulcan Ears taped to the sides of his black leather mask. John placed his head in his hands, wondering how his life had come to this. "That's me and D'Argo, Harv." He looked up and pointed at him, changing Harvey's costume to that of a giant rabbit. "_You_ are Harvey. Now leave me alone."

John walked back into reality, and he noticed his little trip to HarveyLand had done nothing to erase the concern of his friends. He winced and then tried to smile. "Sit back and fasten your seatbelts, Lady and Slug, we're goin' to Arneesk."

xxxxx

"This is Jool's archeological marvel?" John asked in disbelief, walking carefully through the flooded hallway.

Behind him, Chiana held tight to a pulse pistol, watching his back. Rygel floated a safe distance behind them both, waiting for them to clear the way.

"Interons are odd," Chiana said in explanation. "They get excited by stuff like this."

John moved his flashlight ahead of him, illuminating an end to the hall. "Light at the end of the tunnel," he whispered.

Chiana cast him a glance, but said nothing. Together, the three exited into another hallway. This one was dry, and lit from the sunlight outside.

"Anybody home?" John called, tapping on one of the walls.

"John!"

Before he knew what had happened, a wall of Luxan had crashed into him and lifted him off the ground. Somewhere nearby he could hear Jool squealing.

"D'Argo, man," he said, his voice strained. "I can't breathe."

D'Argo placed him back on his feet with a smile, looking him over before turning to check Chiana and Rygel. "You made it," he said. "I had not expected you to come so quickly."

"We had not either," Rygel said wryly.

Chiana smiled sadly as Jool bounced happily beside her, grabbing for John's hand to say hello. "Yeah. Things got kind of bad. You didn't have the Peacekeepers after you?"

D'Argo shook his head. "My ship protected me. I have discovered some new...features."

Jool nodded. "And Pilot, Moya and I came straight to Arneesk after that...horrible wormhole incident."

John froze. "Whoa. What wormhole?" He walked over to her. "What happened?"

Jool frowned. "After D'Argo had gone, we were pulled into a wormhole, and then...we came out again." She shook her head, as if ridding herself of the thought. "But that's not important."

"Jool," John said pleadingly. "Indulge me. What happened? Where's Moya now?"

Jool bit her lip. "I don't know. You should ask the old woman."

"What old woman?" Chiana demanded.

Jool shrugged. "We found her wandering the corridors after you all had left, muttering to herself about how 'he must see.'" Jool giggled. "She's fahrbot, but she should be able to tell you what happened. She talked with Pilot."

"Where did she come from?" John asked with a frown.

"I think she was on that escape pod we rescued from the command carrier," she said. "I don't know. I guess she didn't get off with the rest. But enough about that! John, you have to see, oh, it's amazing!" She grabbed his hand and started leading him away. "Chiana, come on!"

Chiana followed wearily, not listening as Jool rambled on about the wonder of the world. She turned to watch D'Argo as he watched Jool and Crichton, wondering at the change in him. He seemed calmer somehow. Relaxed. It was disconcerting, and made all the worse because she was as tense as she had ever been.

Eventually they ended up outside. John sat down on a bench and started playing with the clasps on his boot as Jool started explaining about the priests that had lived here in the past, and Chiana dropped down beside him.

"Joolushko!" The four of them turned at the harsh voice to see an older Interon exit one of the tunnels. She glanced disdainfully at the new arrivals. "These must be the friends you talk so much of," she said dismissively, before returning her attention to Jool. "You're needed. Your Luxan may come to."

Chiana growled angrily and John had to grab her arm to keep her from going after the woman. "Your Luxan?" she snapped when the woman had gone. "Has she not learned his name?"

"Chiana, it's alright," D'Argo said, sounding remarkably calm. "We both know Interons have a bit of superiority complex."

Jool blushed and turned away, embarrassed by Vella's treatment of their friend. "John, you have to come with us--"

John looked up, and Chiana tugged pleadingly on his sleeve. He glanced at her. "Maybe next time, Jool. We're going to be here awhile, right? You two go."

Jool sighed but nodded. D'Argo smiled and followed after her.

They watched them go, and Chiana rested her head on his shoulder. "Must be something in the water," she said.

He turned towards her. "What?"

"Something's making them happy," she said. "It's creepy. You're miserable, aren't you, Crichton?"

"Yep."

"Good. Because we should be. I knew there was something wrong with them and not us." She glanced around. "Hey, where did Ryge go?"

John looked up. "Maybe he got lost in one of the tunnels." He sighed and got to his feet. "I'd better go look for him. I'll be right back."

Chiana nodded and looked up towards the sky once he had left. This was an odd kind of place, she decided. There was something off about it. She suddenly wished she'd been listening when Jool had been going on about magnetics. Something around her shifted, and she got a strange feeling that things were about to go horribly wrong. Again.

She got to her feet, but the world swirled around her and she stumbled, flashes ripped through her mind and she saw Scorpius panting on the ground, John tied to a stone alter with that tralk Grayza leaning over him, Jool and D'Argo behind an odd pattered set of bars...She screamed and tried to shake her head clear, wishing the images away and when the spinning stopped she grabbed onto the wall and looked for John.

She tried to call him back, but he was already gone. She had the worst feeling that she was too late to change anything again.

End Part Three.

Next Up: Part Four: Dodge City


	5. Dodge City

Part Four: Dodge City

Chiana held tight to her pulse rifle as she crept through the halls. She had found no sign of John, or the others. But she could hear the boots of Peacekeeper commandos echoing from a distance. She was too late, she kept thinking. What was the point of seeing the future if it always came too late?

She froze when she saw a shadow shift ahead of her, and she pressed herself up against the wall. A small whirring noise had her sighing with relief and lowering the weapon. When Rygel spun around the corner she caught the back of his thronesled to hold him back.

"Chi--!"

Chiana covered his mouth quickly, motioning him quiet. "Where the frell were you?" she hissed. "Everything's gone to hezmana, as usual."

Rygel sighed. "I know. I saw Crichton."

Chiana froze. "What? Where is he? We have to get him, was he captured?"

Rygel nodded. "Grayza has him. She presented Scorpius to him like some kind of gift," he said. "She even had the frellnik on a leash." Rygel looked oddly like he admired that. "Then Crichton…well…he…"

Chiana hit him between the ears. "He what, Ryge?"

Rygel frowned. "He kissed her. That was all I saw. I had to get away before they captured me too. Now, we should be able to make it to the transport and get the frell--"

Chiana smacked him again. "We're not going anywhere without the others, toad. I had a vision. I saw…I think--I think they've got D'Argo and Jool, and we're certainly not going to leave Crichton in Grayza's hands. Especially if she's got him nally-whipped."

Rygel wilted. "I was afraid you were going to say that. You have a plan, I suppose?"

Chiana flashed a grin that was eerily reminiscent of one of Crichton's. "Of course."

xxxxx

Instructor Vella watched from the shadows as D'Argo and Joolushko were led away by the Peacekeepers. Having the Peacekeepers here ruined everything. The timing could not be worse, she had only just found the final probe--unfortunately having to kill Oo-Nii to get her hands on it, but she felt little regret as she was confident he would have done the same to her.

The old woman was a threat as well, but she had been so preoccupied muttering to herself about how things were going all wrong, that she had yet to be more than a mere annoyance. Vella slipped away down an adjacent hall, making her way towards the probes. She would need to collect them all, put them somewhere safe--and bide her time until the Peacekeepers got what they had come for and left.

And then the Darnaz Triangle would be hers.

xxxxx

He woke slowly. The cold stone beneath him was the first thing he noticed, the rough edges digging into his skin as he tried to sit up. His wrists were tied with thick black leather, and as he followed them up he could not see where the straps ended, they disappeared into the shadows of the high ceiling.

He pressed his eyes closed. The time he had spent with Grayza was coming back to him, whatever she was doing to him had worn mostly off and the clarity he was experiencing now was unwelcome.

"This does not have to be a bad experience."

John didn't open his eyes at the voice, but briefly, he almost wished it was Grayza talking instead.

"Oh, come now, John," Harvey said, using his most persuasive voice as he sat on the edge of the stone alter. "Give her something, make a deal. You don't have to give her the wormhole technology, she wishes to make peace with the Scarrens and does not want to go war. Simply agree to help her."

"_Harvey,_" he thought wearily. "_You honestly think she would make any kind of deal even were I willing to give her something? She'll kill me when she's done, we both know it._"

"Grayza is ambitious, but she is not out for revenge," Harvey whispered fiercely. "And unlike Scorpius, she does not care for the wormhole technology."

"_Well then we're both screwed. Because that's the only thing of worth I've got_."

"Not the only thing," Harvey whispered. "Give her the Peacekeeper rebels. They are a threat, more of one to Grayza than you. Tell her where she can find them."

John laughed out loud. The commando at the door glanced at him anxiously. _"You want me to give her Aeryn? All these cycles in my head and you still don't have a clue. Even if I knew where she was, I would die first." _

"Not Aeryn," Harvey hissed. "Manes. He is not with the rebels, but he knows them, knows their hideouts. Give him to her, tell her he was at the casino last you knew."

John turned slowly to look at Harvey. _"I give her Manes. Manes gives her Aeryn. No deal. Go away."_

Harvey growled and then walked out of his line of vision, just as Grayza entered it from the other side. "Something amusing?" she asked silkily, as she hovered over him.

John held back a wince. "Yeah. My life."

Grayza smiled at him curiously, running one of her hands across her chest and leaning forward. The heppel oil took him by surprise, and he felt his eyes slip back in his head. When he had gotten a hold on himself again, his wrists had been untied, and Grayza was tugging his black t-shirt from his arm. It would be a perfect time to escape, he thought distantly, but suddenly, he didn't want to.

Grayza placed one of her hands on his chest, and then leaned close. "Now," she said. "Why don't you tell me…why the Scarrens want you so badly?"

xxxxx

"This is fahrbot," Rygel said. "You've gotten just like him, you know. You used to be like me."

Chiana glanced at him and smiled. "Thanks, Ryge. I take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't meant as one," he said, giving her a fierce glare.

"Look, you've got the easy part. I don't know why you're complaining."

"Because we should be getting off this planet while we can," he snapped. "Even if the Peacekeepers don't get us, it isn't long until the Magnetic summer begins."

Chiana froze. "Magnetic summer?"

"Don't you ever listen?" he demanded. "Jool said that this planet has magnetic summers, anyone here when they begin is frelled."

Chiana winced. "Better and better all the time. Don't you love our lives?" When Rygel didn't respond, Chiana turned to look at him. "Okay, okay," she said. "So the plan is fahrbot. But Crichton would do it for you."

Rygel sighed. "Tell me what I have to do again."

Chiana grinned fleetingly and handed him her pulse rifle. "Just take this, near as you can where they're holding Crichton. Overload it. The explosion should send Grayza to investigate."

"What if it doesn't?" Rygel asked.

"Then I kill the bitch," Chiana said simply. "I'm happy either way. The explosion will cause enough of a distraction that I'll stand a chance of getting out with Crichton--and our lives."

"How do you know where they're holding Crichton?" Rygel asked. "You said you knew."

Chiana glanced at him with a pained expression. "I saw it. I recognized the room she has him in as one we passed earlier. And we really have to hurry," she said edgily.

Jool and D'Argo were being held prisoner as well, but they were probably even safer than her and Rygel at the moment--and her first priority had to be John. She had seen what Grayza was doing to him, and from the flashes she had received, she was thinking that Grayza might actually be one of the fabled Dellos concubines--able to control men with a gland that secreted a powerful and irresistible aphrodisiac. If not, then the woman had some kind of bizarre sweat fetish, and Chiana wasn't sure which would be worse.

If she did have a heppel oil gland, Chiana thought worriedly, then she might succeed where all the other Peacekeepers had failed--and get John Crichton to tell her his secrets.

"Come on," Chiana whispered to Rygel, leading the way towards where Crichton was being held. "We have to hurry."

She may have given up her pulse pistol to Rygel, but she had found something just as good to take its place. She thought it might be some kind of Interon weapon, but whatever it was, it was drad. She'd accidentally turned some one-legged bug to stone in the blink of an eye. Rygel had been less impressed, as the beam had been just inches from his foot, but he couldn't deny its effectiveness.

And Grayza would make such a nice statue, Chiana thought with an evil grin.

xxxxx

"I can't believe this," Jool said sullenly. "How did this happen? John wasn't here even an arn. This is a bit much, even for him."

D'Argo was busy pulling at the bars and growling at any guard stupid enough to get too close, and so didn't respond.

"I mean, you've been here for weekens. Nothing. No trouble. We got to work with Vella, find all kinds of fascinating artifacts. No one trying to kill us at all."

D'Argo turned to look at her in mild irritation. "He has bad luck. We all do. Now why don't you scream and melt these bars?"

She glanced at them. "I can't. It won't do any good. They're too thick."

"Just weaken them then," he demanded. "I'll try to pull them apart."

"D'Argo," she said exasperatedly. "If I scream, all of the guards are going to come running. It will not work."

D'Argo sighed but nodded his agreement. "When they come to move us, I will kill them," he said determinedly. "I will not be a prisoner again."

In the interests of preserving his pride, Jool did not point out he already was.

"Something's going on," D'Argo whispered.

Jool jumped to her feet and moved beside him. The two guards assigned to them ran to the end of the hall, but they could still make out pieces of the hurried conversation when they met up with one of the commandos.

"Braca was ambushed…unconscious when…found him--"

"Someone is coming to rescue us!" Jool whispered excitedly. "Oh, this is good news."

"Scorpius…notwith…got away…no sign of him…"

D'Argo froze. "No, this is bad news," he said. "_Very_ bad news."

xxxxx

"It looks like something is already going on," Rygel whispered, as a couple of commandos went rushing by.

Chiana leaned up against the wall beside him, safely out of sight until the Peacekeepers had gone. "Even better," she said. "We need all the help we can get."

She nodded down the hallway. "That's the room. I'm going to the other side behind that corner. I want to be able to sneak right in after the explosion. You wait here, and when I get out of sight, overload the pulse rifle and get the hezmana out of Dodge."

"Dodge?" Rygel asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's one of Crichton's words. It means…ah…it means a place you ought to leave," she said, with a nod of her head to reinforce the statement.

"Crichton's language is insane."

Chiana glared at him. "Just do what I said, Ryge. I'm counting on you. Crichton is too. You can run fast as you want, but overload that pulse rifle before you do. Got it?"

He nodded. "Fine. But you two owe me three now."

"I only owe you two," Chiana said with a grin. "Crichton owes you three 'cause of Winona."

"Just go," Rygel commanded. "Before I change my mind and leave you and Crichton here in Dodge."

xxxxx

Grayza watched him expectantly, lifting his hand to kiss his palm. "And these wormholes…are they worth risking your life?"

John nodded dazedly. He was answering all of her questions, and he couldn't stop himself. He could only be grateful she didn't know the right questions to ask. He'd told her about wormholes, the basics that really told her nothing at all, but he'd given her none of the specifics. She wouldn't understand them even if he did.

"This is why the Scarrens hunt you," she said. "They believe you can make wormhole weapons for them…" She watched him intently as she spoke. "Can you?"

"No," John whispered. It was true enough. The other John Crichton could have, but he'd had the knowledge unlocked. He was only going on instinct, working with the pieces that came to him as he went along.

Grayza smiled down at him. "Then perhaps if I told them you were working for us," she whispered. "And they believed you _were_ giving wormhole weapons to us, we could create a treaty. Ensure peace for us all…"

"Do it, John," Harvey whispered urgently. "She believes you do not have any valuable knowledge, all you would have to do is pretend to help them. It is the perfect solution!"

John stormed into the theater of his mind, wearing a black suit and dark shades. Harvey had held to his promise of ensuring they always looked good when in his arena. "I thought you believed Grayza was a fool. That a treaty between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrens would never hold."

Harvey's eyes widened. "Huh! Who cares if it holds as long as we get out of this alive?"

Disgusted, John opened his eyes--but reality was no more inviting.

Grayza ran a hand through his hair. "What do you say? Will you help me…?" When she reached towards her chest, and forced him to inhale more of the heppel oil, John knew he wouldn't say no.

"Yes," he whispered, desperate to please her and wanting nothing but to escape all at the same time.

Grayza grinned and leaned down to kiss him, freezing when a loud explosion shook the walls, small embers lit past the doorway, before flickering out in the air. Angrily, she grabbed one of John's wrists, and she quickly replaced both of the restraints. John let her do it with no resistance, simply staring curiously at the doorway.

"Stay here," she whispered. "I will return."

He watched her storm out of the room, yelling at the guard at the door not to take his eyes off of him. John carefully tested the restraints, but though they were soft enough they did not cut the skin, they had very little give to them. A strange whirring noise sounded to his left, and he spun his head back towards the door. The guard that had been commanded to watch him was gone. Well, not completely. His head and arms were sticking out from the wall, entirely petrified.

"Frell me dead," he heard a familiar voice whisper, and a microt later, Chiana was running towards him.

"Crichton," she said as she reached him. "Hey? You okay? We've got to get you out of here."

He watched her silently as she quickly untied his wrists, and then turned around to grab his shirt. She threw it at him and then grabbed his arm and started pulling him up.

"A little help would be nice," she groused. "Can you walk?"

John stared at her, almost as though he had never seen her before. "You're very beautiful," he said, a strange kind of awe in his voice.

Chiana rolled her eyes. Any other time and she'd of been ecstatic to have Crichton tell her that. Surrounded by Peacekeepers, and him drugged out of his mind with an aphrodisiac, it just wasn't the same.

"Thank you," she said. "Now put on your shirt. You're distracting me, and we have to stay focused."

John nodded and grabbed his shirt. "Grayza, she…did something to me," he told her.

"The bad guys usually do. They really love messing with your head, huh?" She helped him pull his shirt over his head, all the time checking behind them to make sure no more guards had shown up. The explosion was just down the hall. They didn't have much time. She grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her towards the door. He pulled away for a moment to grab Winona off of a table, and then let her pull him behind her.

She saw Grayza yelling commands twenty feet away, and slowly gave John a push in the opposite direction, following him wearily, the weapon wrapped around her arm aimed steadily in the direction of the Peacekeepers.

"Crichton, how are you doing?" Chiana whispered as she continued to guide him out of the tunnels.

He glanced at her. "Um, fine. It's, ah, starting to wear off again I think."

She nodded gratefully, and then spotted the sunlight. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and urgently pulled him outside. They hid against the wall as a group of commandos ran by, and then slipped off into the trees.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"I do _not_ know," Chiana said, never slowing her pace. "But we've got to go somewhere we can think for a microt. Think up a game plan."

John grinned. "I thought you didn't want to bother with game plans anymore."

"They sometimes work," Chiana admitted grudgingly. "Mine anyway. You're here, right?" Chiana looked around and decided they had gone deep enough for the moment, John looked exhausted.

She stopped and he dropped to the ground, leaning back against one of the trees. Tiredly, she fell down beside him.

"Rygel, D'Argo and Jool?" he asked.

"Rygel is either stealing our transport or hiding somewhere. The Peacekeepers have D'Argo and Jool," she said, breathless. "But we'll, ah, we'll get them back." She grinned brightly. "You always think of something."

John grabbed her hand and held it tight, nodding as he closed his eyes and shivered. He had been so close to making a deal with Grayza, signing his life over to her…

"Chiana," he whispered, pulling her into a hug. "I owe you one."

"Technically, you owe me more than that," Chiana said wryly, before tightening her grip around him. "But who's counting?"

He laughed and Chiana rubbed his back when she realized he was shaking. Next time she saw Grayza, Chiana decided, she was dead. "It's going to be alright," she whispered. "That tralk is not coming near you again."

He grinned shakily. "I thought I was the one that was supposed to protect you?"

"It works both ways, old man," she said slyly.

"We need a plan," John said, trying to pull away.

Chiana wasn't ready to let go. "I'm still getting over my last plan," she said. "Give me a microt."

John nodded and held on, glad for a moment to gather himself. Scorpius had used the neural chip to control him, but not like this. With Grayza there was no one taking over, it was just him, but he couldn't control what he did.

"John."

Chiana and John sprung apart at the voice, looking up in shock. Aeryn stood a foot away, a pulse rifle thrown over her arm by a thin black strap. Chiana didn't let go of his sleeve as she took in this new development.

"Aeryn," John whispered, stunned.

But before he could break out into a relieved smile, another voice, this one unwelcome, intruded. "Hello, John."

John and Chiana both had their weapons out and aimed before he had even fully stepped from behind the cluster of trees. Aeryn quickly stepped into the line of fire, and behind her, Scorpius smiled.

End Part Four

Next Up: Part Five: Deal with the Devil


	6. Deal with the Devil

Part Five: Deal with the Devil

"What the hell…Aeryn?" John stood up slowly, using the tree as support, not lowering Winona, but trying to keep her aimed at Scorpius as much as he could with Aeryn standing right in the way. "What is going on?"

She held out her hands. "I will explain," she said. "But I need you to lower your weapons."

Chiana laughed. That was a no.

Aeryn sighed, but didn't ask again. "Manes showed up at my unit's headquarters, he told me he had encountered you at the Casino. He mentioned the bounty Grayza had placed on you, on all of us, and I knew I had to find you and make sure you had not been captured. When I got here, I realized I was already too late. And I needed a way to get you out of her hands."

John nodded, adjusting the grip on his pulse pistol. "That explains why you're here. But it doesn't explain him."

"Let's kill him," Chiana said with an evil little grin.

"Yes," John agreed.

"No," Aeryn interrupted calmly. "No, John, you must listen to me--"

John's eyes flickered over to hers. He didn't agree, but he didn't start shooting at the half-breed, either.

"When I came here for you," she whispered. "I found Braca walking Scorpius around on a frelling leash."

John kept his eyes locked with hers. "And what? You--you thought, hey, I'm gonna save the monster that destroyed all of our lives today?"

"No," Aeryn said patiently. "But I decided he would be a more willing source of information than Braca…if I helped release him."

"Yes, Aeryn, _release_ him. You really think that's a good idea?"

Aeryn shook her head, desperate for him to understand. "He has agreed to help us. He was going to help me get you away from Grayza, but now, he can help us retrieve D'Argo."

"And Jool," Chiana snapped.

Aeryn looked over at her, and then nodded. "Yes, and Jool."

"So…what? You, what? You want me to play nice with _Nosferatu_?" John asked incredulously. He laughed. "You've got to be kidding me." John stepped beside Aeryn and aimed Winona directly at Scorpius. "I don't share the sandbox with the bad guys."

"John, no--don't." Aeryn pushed down his hand and forced him to lower his weapon. "Please, he is the only reason we even stand a chance of getting D'Argo back, the tunnels are like a maze and they could be anywhere. I have given him my word you would not harm him, promise me--"

John slowly turned to watch her, his fingers twitching around the handle of Winona. "Don't ask me this, Aeryn," he whispered.

"D'Argo will be killed if we do not get to him," Aeryn said. "We can not get to him without Scorpius. Promise me you will not hurt him."

John bit his lip, his eyes straying back to glare at Scorpius, Winona lifting ever so slightly before Aeryn pushed his hand back down.

"Promise me, John, please."

"I…promise…" He saw Chiana's eyes widen in horror. He could sympathize.

Aeryn nodded, relieved. "Now, I need you to get off this planet."

John turned to her in disbelief. "No, no I'm not leaving you alone with him. I'm going to help."

Aeryn shook her head and stepped up to him. "No, no--listen to me, John. We don't have time for this. I've lost you once--"

"No," John interrupted quietly. "No, you never lost _me_. You left me, Aeryn. You ran away."

She lowered her eyes, then placed her hands on the back of his neck and met his gaze again. "I know. And it was a mistake. But I came back, John, I came back for _you_."

"Crichton," Chiana said. "We can't trust Scorpius! You can't really--"

"Of course we can't trust him," John said, his pulse pistol still lowered as his eyes sought Scorpius.

"Chiana," Aeryn said, turning to face the Nebari. "Can you get John back to the transport? Get away from here?"

"Yeah," she said. "I think I can manage."

"Chiana," John snapped. "I'm not--"

She met his eyes, and they didn't say the same things she did. "You're still drugged, compromised, you wouldn't be a help. The best we can do is make sure you stay out of Grayza's hands."

Aeryn nodded her approval. "Please, John, we can not risk her capturing you again."

"Scorpius convince you of that?" he demanded.

"No," she said, her voice tense.

"Come on, Crichton," Chiana said. "We can't trust him but we trust Aeryn, right? She'll get D'Argo and Jool back."

John nodded reluctantly, and moved towards Scorpius. "If you hurt her, any of them," he whispered. "I'll kill you. Promise or not."

"That was never in doubt," Scorpius said softly, a small grin playing across his lips.

Chiana grabbed John's hand and started pulling him away, towards the transport. When Aeryn and Scorpius had been left behind, he turned to her. "Okay. What's the plan?"

"Well, it certainly isn't leaving Scorpius here to rescue our friends," she said with a quick little grin.

He smiled weakly. "I don't like him left alone with Aeryn." He turned to look behind him. "How can she trust him?"

Chiana sighed. "She used to trust Crais, too--they're Peacekeepers, Crichton. Half-Scarren or not, and there's a kind of…something there. Not that she's anything like him, but she probably does understand him. Better than we ever will."

John had a feeling he understood Scorpius more than any of them, so he didn't respond, and Chiana said nothing more as they turned and backtracked towards the tunnels.

xxxxx

"They are not going to leave," Scorpius said from behind her.

"No," she agreed. "But we can't worry about it now. We just have to get D'Argo and Jool out and hope they stay out of trouble. Then we'll track them down."

Scorpius nodded slightly, though he felt that John staying out of trouble would be unlikely--he had seen the man's memories, and he seemed to attract it.

"You said you know where they're being held?" Aeryn demanded.

Scorpius titled his head in acknowledgement. "Braca led me there on one of our…walks…"

"Lead the way," Aeryn demanded with a nod. The sooner they got Jool and D'Argo away, the sooner they could find John and leave. And she could try and put things right. "I'll know if they're following, but I don't think they will. And even those two are not foolish enough to try a rescue when they have no idea where D'Argo and Jool are being held."

xxxxx

"Okay," John said. "So we have no idea where they are."

"But we still have to rescue them," Chiana said, putting her arm around John's waist when he stumbled.

"Right," he agreed. "No problem."

xxxxx

Aeryn followed Scorpius through the trees, keeping a close watch despite their alliance. As long as he kept his end of the deal, she would hold to hers. But if he broke it he was dead.

They froze when they heard voices, two commandos were stomping towards them through the forest, obviously looking for their escaped prisoner. Aeryn motioned to Scorpius that she would handle it.

She snuck up behind them, throwing one into a tree as she snapped the other's neck. Then she turned around and brought her pulse rifle crashing down onto the remaining guard's skull.

"Well done, Officer Sun," Scorpius said silkily from behind her.

She put her chin up, ignoring the chill those words brought to the air. "I would not call this well done," she snapped, picking up one of the fallen men's weapons and reluctantly tossing it to him. "They were only following orders. You're the kind of man that killing would make a job well done."

Scorpius grinned as she walked away.

xxxxx

"Damn. Hey, Pip? Did I really promise not to hurt Scorpius?" John asked, as they headed back towards the archaeological site.

Chiana winced. "Yeah."

John laughed. "How frelled is that? Me promising not to hurt him. I didn't get one of those promises from him, did I?"

"Nope. But hey, it's going to be alright, Crichton. They'll get D'Argo and Jool out, and then we'll leave Scorpius here to either become Grayza's pet half-breed again, or to bake."

"Oh, frell," John whispered. "I forgot the magnetics. How long do you think we have?"

"Not long…at all."

The two froze at the voice behind them, and stumbled as they spun around together. Vella looked down at them with some distaste, two large triangular devices under one arm, and another in her hand. On her other arm, there was a carver just like the one Chiana was still wearing.

"And if you do not help me," she said. "We will all be dead. I had hoped to simply wait until the Peacekeeper's leave, but they obviously don't realize they're running out of time."

John watched her. "The Darnaz Triangle?" he asked.

Vella nodded with some admiration. "Yes." Then she held up the carver. "And you two are going to help me set it up."

"Whoa! Hold it right there, Lara Croft--now correct me if I'm wrong, but the Peacekeepers getting their hands on this sounds like a really bad idea. If you set it up, they might find it."

"The Peacekeepers are imbeciles," Vella said with a sneer. "I am not even certain they realize they are in danger, and they certainly know nothing of the history of this planet. They will believe it a miraculous recovery, and we'll let them."

Chiana glanced at John. "But I thought that Darnaz thing was a weapon?"

"It can be set to reverse its damage," Vella said. "If the probes are set 600 motras apart, and then activated. Activation is simple enough even you should be able to handle it. You simply slam them in the ground, and then hit them."

John grinned. "You hit them? Can you kick 'em? Does that work too?"

Vella sneered at him and John and Chiana laughed, more from exhaustion than any actual amusement.

xxxxx

"D'Argo," Jool whispered. "D'Argo, its happening…look at your skin…"

D'Argo looked at his hand, the color was muted and faded. He frowned. "This is the maganetics?"

Jool nodded. "Another arn, and we aren't going to have to worry about a rescue."

D'Argo growled and slammed his hands against the bars. "Don't the frelling Peacekeepers realize something is wrong? It's getting harder to breathe."

"Maybe something has postponed their leaving," Jool said hopefully. "Maybe they still haven't caught the others."

D'Argo winced. "We heard the guards talking about John."

Jool frowned and looked away. "Maybe he got away," she said, then she grinned wryly. "Maybe Scorpius rescued him after he escaped."

D'Argo snorted. "Because _that_ is in the realm of possibilities."

xxxxx

Scorpius walked silently across the stone floor, and though she would never admit to it, Aeryn admired his stealth. There were not many Peacekeepers here. She had already taken out two herself, and she was unsure if Braca had lived. There could not be many left with only two Marauders on the planet.

"This way," Scorpius whispered.

She followed him to the left, and faintly, she could hear the voices of her friends. They reached the cell, but Scorpius fell back, not allowing himself to be seen. Aeryn thought he had the right idea, because D'Argo was probably not going to react to this well.

She slipped in front of the bars, and then fell against the wall at the other side, out of sight of any guards. Jool and D'Argo turned to look at her in shock.

"Aeryn," D'Argo whispered, breaking out in a grin which disappeared just as quickly. "John, he's--"

Aeryn brought a finger to her lips and D'Argo nodded. Turning to look down the hall behind her, Aeryn could see no guards. She would have to shoot the lock off, but first, she needed to tell them what was going on.

"John is safe," she whispered. "He and Chiana are together. They said they were going to get off the planet, but knowing them--" D'Argo nodded with exasperation, and Aeryn moved on. "In any case, I have to tell you something…" she took a deep breath. "I have made a deal with Scorpius--that is how I have found you."

The reactions were immediate, Jool's mouth dropped open and D'Argo lunged forward in agitation, wrapping his fingers around the bars and glaring out at her. "You what?"

"She made a deal with me," Scorpius whispered smugly as he stepped into view, very obviously holding a pulse rifle.

"It is the only way I could find you in time," Aeryn said softly. "I need you to cooperate, D'Argo, if you attack him we will never get out of here alive."

D'Argo hissed over at Scorpius, and Aeryn stepped into his line of vision. "We have to get out of here," she said. "This is the only way."

Reluctantly, D'Argo nodded. Jool still looked shocked.

Aeryn nodded, and then checked again for approaching guards. "I'm going to shoot the lock off," she said. "Then we run."

Jool and D'Argo both nodded again, and Aeryn took a step back, aiming the weapon. One shot at the cell door flew open. Microts later, shouts and running boots could be heard getting closer. D'Argo and Jool ran from the cell, and Scorpius watched them for a moment and then spun, leading them from tunnels.

D'Argo hissed, but at a look from Aeryn, the three took off after Scorpius, Aeryn always looking behind them, ready to fire if anyone should get too close.

xxxxx

"You're imbeciles!" Vella cried angrily, aiming the carver at them. "Do you want to live or not?"

Before John could think of a response, there was a frantic shout behind them.

"I will save you! I will save you! Down! Get down!"

For one insane moment, John thought Stark had shown up from somewhere. But the voice was female, and when he turned he saw a very old woman running up beside him. Without pausing, she ripped Winona from John's holster when she was close enough.

"Hey!" he shouted, starting after her as she kept on her course towards Vella.

Vella aimed her carver at the old woman. "You!" she hissed. "You should not have interfered."

Vella started up the carver, but the old woman shot Winona before she could do anything with it. Vella fell backwards, a silent cry screaming from her eyes as they went blank.

John skid to a stop, Chiana just behind him. "What have you done?" he asked.

"She would have killed you. She killed On-nii! She would have allowed the triangle to fall into evil hands! Oh, what was lost here, you must see--"

John grabbed her hands as she reached for something, pulling Winona from her grasp. "Thanks, but I'll pass." He knelt beside Vella. "She's dead."

The old woman fell to her knees and began chanting. "…receive the spirit…of Instructor Vella, no matter how selfish…how evil…"

"Chiana," John whispered. "Who is this woman?"

Chiana glanced at him with wide eyes. "I have no idea."

A humming sound above them caused them to look up, and they could see their transport spiraling up into the atmosphere, disappearing between the clouds--headed for space.

"The little slime ball! My module is in that transport!" John shouted.

xxxxx

They were nearing the ends of the tunnel when Scorpius stopped abruptly, holding out a hand to indicate the others should follow suit. They were irritated with the delay, until they heard Grayza's voice carry over to them from around the corner.

Agitatedly, Aeryn adjusted her grip on her pulse rifle.

"A lone transport?" she demanded. "It must be Crichton. We're going after him, prepare the Marauders! Something is wrong with this planet, leave the other prisoners here to whatever fate may come. They matter not."

"Yes, ma'am."

Aeryn recognized the voice instantly. So she had not killed Braca after all. Pity.

Grayza and the remaining Peacekeepers headed straight out of the tunnels, and cautiously, the four fugitives crept to the edge to watch them file into the Marauders.

"This is good," Aeryn said. "D'Argo, do you have your ship with you?"

"Yes," he said, still eyeing Scorpius warily. He turned back to Aeryn. "What if it was Chiana and Crichton on that transport?"

Aeryn shrugged. "It was not them. They would not have flown such an obvious course, they could have hid from sensors--it has to have been Rygel. And there is no denying he will deserve whatever fate awaits him."

Jool winced. "So we're just going to abandon him?"

"Considering the fact that it is he abandoning us, and we're caught on a dying planet with no means to do anything for anyone but ourselves--I'm afraid we have no choice."

D'Argo nodded. "We have to find Chiana and Crichton. They would have been heading this way. Hopefully they aren't far."

Jool nodded. "Follow me. I know this planet best."

D'Argo and Aeryn started after her, and Scorpius, almost forgotten, trailed behind with a slow grin.

xxxxx

They were still watching the place the transport had disappeared when two Marauders appeared, chasing it through the sky. "Peacekeepers," John whispered. "Damn it, Rygel."

Chiana fell to her knees beside John. "It's getting worse. And I can barely breathe. Jool and her frelling hobbies."

"I thought it was my hobbies that caused problems," he said with a slight grin.

Chiana shook her head. "I'd trade this in for wormholes any day."

He nodded faintly. "The Peacekeepers are gone. It should be safe to activate the probes."

"Okay," Chiana agreed. "Let's do it."

"We need three people," John said tiredly.

Chiana looked over at the old woman, who was pulling up weeds and muttering to herself. "We have three people…sort of."

John looked at her incredulously. "She'll probably wander off into the sea with it, we need someone we can trust."

"Did I hear need of someone trustworthy?" Rygel flew in on his thronesled, composed and looking insufferably smug.

"Ryge!" Chiana yelled happily, at the same time John shouted, "Guido!"

He smiled smugly at them.

"We thought you took off!" Chiana cried. "Who's in that transport?"

"No one," Rygel said. "I set it to fly itself to lead the Peacekeepers away, and took Crichton's module to get back here--"

"You FLEW my module?" John shouted, only mildly relieved it wasn't lost in the face of it having been flown by someone that wasn't him--and that the someone was _Rygel_.

Rygel ignored him. "--but we most likely do not have long before they return, so I suggest we hurry and get the frell out of Dodge."

John raised his eyebrow at the expression, and then grinned. "Sparky, I rarely say this to you, but I couldn't agree more."

He tossed one of the probes to Rygel, and another to Chiana. "Chiana--" he started.

"Got it," she said, already starting off in the opposite direction.

John nodded and turned to Rygel, pointing in another direction. "600 motras. Stick into the ground and kick it. Or whack it with your thronesled. Whatever."

Rygel flew off, and John headed off in another direction, the old woman trailing silently behind him. He stumbled and caught himself, forcing himself to continue on. The magnetics were zapping all his strength, but none of them could afford to stop.

xxxxx

D'Argo grabbed Jool's arm as she stumbled with a cry. And the pulse rifle in Aeryn's hands was becoming almost too much for her to carry.

"We're never going to make it," Jool said. "Even if we find them, we won't reach the ship in time."

Aeryn pointed at her angrily. "We will make it. We always do. Now keep moving."

Aeryn started walking again, and D'Argo pulled Jool along behind her. Scorpius stumbled on his own behind them, but the suit protected him from much and he had lifted spare and untainted cooling rods from the unconscious Braca--he could have walked a straight line if he had wanted too.

"Vella!" Jool screamed, pointing ahead of them.

Aeryn followed the direction and saw an older Interon woman lying dead with a pulse blast to the stomach. She started scanning the area. "Pulse blast. It was either the Peacekeepers or Crichton."

Jool turned to her in anger. "Why would John have killed her? She would have been trying to help, she…"

"I do not know," Aeryn snapped. "I was just stating the evidence. Crichton would have come this way if he was heading back towards the tunnels from where we left him."

Jool kneeled beside Vella, and D'Argo placed a hand on her shoulder. He wasn't particularly upset with Vella's death, but he felt for Jool, because they would be soon to follow.

xxxxx

"This should be far enough," John said into the com, falling to his knees. "You guys ready?"

"Whenever you are, old man."

"Just get the yotz on with it!"

John grinned slightly. "Do it," he said. He slammed the probe into the ground, and after deciding not to waste the effort of standing and kicking, he picked up a rock and hit it.

Nothing happened.

"Anything?" he asked.

"No, Crichton, you--"

"Wait!" Chiana's voice broke in. "Something's happening."

John's eyes slipped back towards the probe, and sure enough, it was lifting itself from the ground and rising towards the sky. He fell backwards, looking up to watch it until it disappeared. Three points of light and a flash before the heavy weight on his chest started to lesson again and he could breathe.

"We did it!" Chiana yelled happily. "Frell me, we did it!"

John laughed in relief, forgetting for a microt that they still had the Peacekeepers nearby to worry about. The old woman kneeled next to him with a slight smile.

"You are John Crichton. You rescued me, yes, it was you, yes?"

John glanced at her, his smile slipping. "I don't know who you are," he started.

"You must see," she breathed, pulling out a small pouch.

This time, before he could stop her, she blew white powder into his eyes and he jerked backwards with a cry.

Then she whispered a subliminal message. And Harvey did the rest.

xxxxx

They were on D'Argo's ship. All of them but Jool.

D'Argo had sent out a probe, so that when the Marauders returned they would be led away again, following a false trail in the opposite direction. Away from Arneesk. Away from them. His module was out of fuel thanks to Rygel, but safely being towed behind them.

Chiana's hand was clutching his jacket from where she sat beside him. John was looking straight ahead at what lay across from him.

When they had arrived back where they had left Vella they had found the others, and headed back towards D'Argo's ship together--stopping only when they glimpsed a temple that disappeared into the sky.

Jool had stayed behind with the ancient priests that had rematerialized upon the reversal of magnetics, and he'd had to say goodbye again--this time maybe for good. Aeryn had been staying in the peripheral, all hard eyes and weapons and he'd tried to decide if what Harvey had told him about a baby could be true. She gave nothing away.

Scorpius had slipped around behind them. John shivering without meaning to every time he felt him watching him. Just a little longer, he had told himself, and he could get away.

Chiana was tugging on his jacket now, whispering something, but he couldn't hear her. His eyes didn't break off their intense gaze. The eyes that stared back were smiling.

When it had been time to leave, he had been so relieved. Until Aeryn dropped another bombshell. She wasn't intending to leave Scorpius behind.

"We take him with us," she had said.

"No, no! You can't be serious, Aeryn--you can't honestly--"

"Would you rather leave him here with Jool and defenseless priests?"

"I'd rather he were dead."

But he wasn't dead. He was right across from him. John was beginning to think he couldn't die.

Aeryn was somewhere behind him, but he had not spoken to her after he had reluctantly agreed to honor her contract to Scorpius, and she'd stayed away. He wasn't sure whether or not to be grateful for the distance, but he could feel Chiana right beside him, and it was nice to think there was someone still on his side.

Not that Aeryn wasn't, he told himself. She just didn't understand him. She hadn't realized what she had asked of him, because for her it was nothing but dealing and alliances, the quickest and most efficient way there had been to get them all out alive. But she didn't understand.

And it didn't matter how much he wanted to turn and look at her--to reassure himself she was still there, to see if he could tell it had been the truth--his eyes never left Scorpius.

End Part Five

Next Up: Epilogue: Three's Company


	7. Three's Company

Epilogue: Three's Company

"Moya," came Rygel's reverent whisper.

Everyone sat up and stared out the front window, all of them but John, who only glanced towards it and gave a small smile at seeing Moya, before turning his attention back to Scorpius.

"Pilot," D'Argo said with a smile. "Pilot, are you there?"

"Ka D'Argo, is that you?"

D'Argo's grin grew wider at the response, and Chiana let out a pleased cry, turning to give John a small shake with a smile. He glanced at her slightly, smiling softly before his eyes caught Aeryn's across the ship, leaning against the back--watching him.

He looked back at Scorpius, and D'Argo and Pilot's voices faded away. Scorpius smiled at him, and John gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to turn away. He felt the small shudder as the ship landed in one of Moya's docking bays, and his hands strayed to Winona, hovering at her handle.

"We better get you set up in the guest suite," he said, finally pulling the weapon out and aiming it, motioning Scorpius to get out of the ship first.

"John," Aeryn protested. "You promised--"

"And this pulse pistol wouldn't even faze him," John said. "Ain't that right, Scorpy? Mind if I use you for target practice?"

Scorpius turned slightly to glare at him, letting out a low irritated hiss.

John grinned and tightened his grip. "We'll take him to the lower tiers. Lock him up. Non negotiable," he snapped, turning to look at Aeryn, who nodded slowly.

"Let them take him," Aeryn said, motioning to Chiana and D'Argo. "We need to talk."

"Now is not the time, Aeryn," John said, glaring at Scorpius still. "We get him in a cage and we can go get ourselves a drink. Okay?"

"John, please--" Aeryn said.

D'Argo pulled out his Qualta Blade. "It's alright, John, we can handle him."

Rygel, obviously not intending to include himself in the 'we', sped from the room. The old woman wandered from the ship in a daze, and followed him out. John decided to worry about her later. Chiana put on the carver she had been unable to part with and aimed it at Scorpius with a smile. She wondered if his suit would stop this, or if it would just turn it to stone along with the rest of him. It was something she greatly hoped she would have a chance to test. .

John nodded reluctantly, lowering Winona, and with a growl, D'Argo gave Scorpius a shove towards the doors. When they were gone and he had nowhere else to look, he turned to meet Aeryn's eyes.

She smiled, and though he would never have thought to apply the word to Aeryn, it looked timid. "It's good to see you, John."

He holstered his weapon. It slid in with a click. "It's good to see you too," he said, though what he wasn't saying was almost as easily heard.

"I need to explain," Aeryn said with a shake of her head. "John, I-- I realized, when I was gone, that you're worth the risk, that loving you--that it's worth the risk."

John looked to the ground. A perfect time for her to realize that the risks were worth it, just when he was thinking maybe they weren't. He decided to change the subject, and looked her over to make sure she was unharmed. She looked fine. Perfect, actually. She was practically glowing. He bit his lip. He wondered if that had anything to do with what Granny had told him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Aeryn nodded. "Yes. I'm fine, John. Are you? I mean, Grayza she--"

"I'm fine," he snapped, and Aeryn quickly looked away.

John had always been the one to move to comfort, holding her as she fell, teaching her what to do. He was her anchor, and she didn't always know the right thing to do without his guidance. "John, I would like…to stay here…"

He looked over at her. He had never thought that she wouldn't. It hurt to think maybe she had. "That's good…I'm sure the others will…" he trailed off. He ran a hand through his hair and Aeryn looked at him concerned.

"John…what's wrong?"

John looked up again, and she was smiling that timid smile again, like she was hoping for something she didn't understand. He had to know, he decided. There was no point to any of this if he didn't.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked, surprised at his own bluntness.

She paused at the question, her wide eyes straying away from his, and he had his answer.

She was. Had been. She had left him without saying a thing and no intention of returning, and he didn't know what to make of that. Sometimes he could look at Aeryn and forget she wasn't human, and he would have to remind himself she came from somewhere he couldn't understand anymore than she would understand Earth--and allowances had to be made. But there was only so much his heart could take.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked softly, looking over at her in short glances for her reaction, for a response. Praying she would say something, anything, to help him understand.

Aeryn said nothing. She wouldn't even look at him as he walked away.

xxxxx

John sat with his knees pulled up to his chest in the middle of the terrace, the stars dancing around outside as Moya sped along on her way. He didn't know why he found it so comforting here, with the stars, because he could recognize none of them but one--the one that sat in the center of them all, and it didn't bring him as much comfort as it used too.

He couldn't stop watching it anyway, drawing it first on every map, calling it Aeryn if only to himself. Whatever happened, he didn't think he ever would.

He heard barely audible footsteps and the slight whir of a thronesled, and smiled despite himself. Chiana and Rygel-- things had changed for the three of them. He'd always been close to Chiana, and she always to Rygel, but despite everything that had continuously happened to him and Rygel in the past cycles--he felt closer to him now than he ever had before.

He had to admit, the slug had his uses.

Arms slipped around his neck from behind, and he felt Chiana smiling against his ear. "Hey, cheer up, old man. This is as good as it gets for us, let's enjoy it."

Rygel flew and parked his thronsled on his other side. John smiled wryly. "Scorpius is here, with us, under asylum. Aeryn is back--but she's still distant as she's always been despite she's not _acting_ distant anymore, which is just confusing me, and Grayza is pissed--probably vowing to have us all killed if it's the last thing she does, and every single bounty hunter in the galaxy is after our heads. And…this…is as good as it gets?"

Chiana thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yep. Raslak?"

John shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Chiana grinned and reached across him towards Rygel, who pulled a large bottle of Raslak from his thronesled to hand to her. Then he pulled out three glasses, which Chiana took one by one to place in front of them.

John raised his eyebrows. "Had this planned, did you?"

Chiana gave him his favorite crooked little grin, and looked over at him innocently. "We thought you might need some cheering up. There's no quicker way than Raslak." She paused. "Well, except for sex."

"Raslak should be fine, thanks," he said with a laugh.

Chiana pouted a little. "You're not any fun."

Rygel snorted. "I am still here," he said. "And if you do not mind, I would just as soon not witness your kind of fun, Chiana."

Chiana opened the bottle and began filling the glasses. "You don't have to stay, Ryge," she said wryly.

He reached out his hands as she passed him his glass and eyed her critically. "Let us just get on with the cheering up so I can be done and go eat."

Chiana nodded. "Sure thing." She handed John another glass and took one for herself.

He took it and smiled at them, enjoying the easy banter that he'd grown so accustomed to in the last weekens. "It was fun, though, wasn't it?" he asked.

Chiana laughed. "Oh, it was definitely fun. Corrupt casino security, mad bounty hunters, psychopathic Peacekeeper tralks--you don't get more entertained than that, except for--"

"Sex," John and Rygel said together, with a shared look of exasperation.

"Well, yeah," Chiana nodded.

"Well," Rygel said, hitting his glass to get their attention. "I would like to propose a bread!"

John nearly choked on his Raslak. "Do you mean a toast?"

Rygel glanced at him irritably. "Yes, yes, that's what I said. I would like to propose a toast!"

John shared a glance with Chiana before motioning for Rygel to go ahead.

Rygel gave a royal little nod. "We saved the day again," he said. "I think that we make quite a good team, do you not agree?"

Chiana and John were both surprised to find they did. They grinned at each other. "Well, we managed to stay alive at least," John admitted.

"And we did save Arneesk, the priests, and our own eemas again when we set up the probes," Chiana laughed.

Rygel grinned at them smugly. "I always did think we were the best ones," he said, holding up his glass. "To us."

Chiana and John clinked their glasses with his, and they all laughed. "The three amigos!"

_The End. _


End file.
